Charles Mason opened Charles’ Barber and Style Shop in 1972 and forty years later, heis looking forward to celebrating its anniversary. It’s the kind of date worth looking for, as Charles has cultivated much more than a standard in business. He has managed to craft that which eludes most business owners: both physical and mental success.

It was in the Tucker Plaza shopping center –on Hugh Howell Road- where his dreambegan. The world that Tucker, Georgia had created was booming around him; familieswere starting to thrive. So Charles did what any normal American would do, he decidedthat it was time for him to go into business for himself. He had been working in the world of barbering at nearby Taylor's Barbershop for ten years, so there was a very definitive question in the back of his mind: stay in Tucker or attempt to build an entirely new client base?

But the answer, as dictated by his daughter, Angie Beck, seems to have come easily. "He stayed in Tucker because that was where all his customers were; Tucker has always been a place where you know your neighbors. We have always loved that," she says. Families all throughout Tucker, Lilburn and outlying countries have come just becauseof the familiar atmosphere and quaint décor and absolutely professional attitude thatCharles’ Barber and Style Shop has to offer. Fathers come with their children; thesechildren grow up, stay in Tucker, and –due to the lasting impression of such a qualitybusiness- bring their own children. This cycle, which Charles has propagated, is morethan just a symbol of how strong he is, because Charles has seen the heart of thecommunity; he knows what beats beneath its chest; and he knows how to keep this heart pumping.

One of these things is the eventual hiring of his daughter. "I am very lucky to worksomewhere that is filled with people who have been around my whole life,” shesays. “There are [people] who come in… who remember me before I could walk. Theyare our friends [and] sometimes our family."

The unavoidable truth here is that Charles has nurtured the same sense of family in hisdaughter that he had grown, himself, starting in 1972. As a single father raising bothAngie and her brother, Charles has become the quintessential single father, giving to hischildren the best parts of himself. "I love the shop," she states, "We spent a lot of timethere as kid. Being there is like being at home. I get that from dad."

"[Coming in to work is] like meeting old friends and [some] new ones. Most people comein and just start chit-chatting; it's a very relaxed environment," said Beck. As a child,nobody ever knows his or her parent’s true intentions –from declining a piece of candyafter dinner to refusing to buy a new car. But now, she can see now what Charles musthave known as far back as 1972. Family comes from consistency, tradition, faith, andpride.

And all of these things can be found at Charles’ Barber and Style shop for the simple cost of a haircut.